[Nook Color Themes and Apps] wretchedlocket:
I've seen it asked quite a few times now, so I thought I would share how I've been creating my own themes for the Nook. This is a quick and dirty guide as I've almost got it down to a science for quick, keyboard shortcut, theming.

Things you'll need

Photoshop or The Gimp for editing files

Android SDK so you can push and pull files to/from the Nook.

draw9patch app in the Android SDK /tools folder for creating 9.png files

APK Manager (http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=6703735&postcount=1)

Notepad++ or some other text editor for editing XML files. After using Notepad++ on this, I'd highly recommend it though

An attention span

Some restraint

This is a rather good guide that helped me get started. My only complaint is that it is almost to complicated and includes more information than what is needed for a basic theme.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=916814

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Getting Started:

Download the Android SDK and get it installed.

Download APK Manager

ADB pull /system/framework/framework-res.apk

Make a copy of the framework-res.apk files as a back-up in case you need to revert

Copy the framework-res.apk file to the /place-apk-here-for-modding folder under the APK Manager folder

Launch the APK Manager Script.bat file

Type in 22 to select the default project

Type in the number next to framework-res.apk in the list to select it as your project

Select 1 to extract the files

Select 9 to decompile (this is what makes the XML files readable)

Go to the /projects/framework-res/res folder under the APK Manager folder to view all the files from the theme

Images are located in the /drawable-mdpi folder. XML files are located throughout, but the files specific to layout are under the /layout folder. To change global settings, such as color codes and strings, edit the XML files under the /values folder.

Creating custom PNG files: If you are using Photoshop, use the Save For Web feature when saving. Save the image as PNG-24. Select None under the Matte option. Select None under Metadata.

A word on 9.png files: 9.png files are files that can be stretched by the OS. There is a 1 pixel border all the way around the image. In that 1 pixel border, you'll notice solid black lines here and there. The black pixels indicate which portions of the image are to be stretched. You can add this border and the black pixels in Gimp or Photoshop, or you can open the file the draw9patch app under the Android SDK /tools folder. The draw9patch app will actually display how the image will look when stretched as you add the black pixels around the border, so it can come in handy and it's what I prefer to use. You can open and edit .9.png files in draw9patch and edit the border even after you save the file.

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Once you have all your files edited, recompile the APK package with APK Manager

Option 11

y

y

It will tell you to delete the files under the /keep folder that you have edited. Delete any images and XML files, from the /keep folder, you edited under the /projects folder. If you edited XML files, delete the /keep/res/resources.arsc file as well

Press any key to continue and let the script finish

In a separate command line window, mount your Nook's /system folder (adb shell mount -o remount,rw /dev/block/mmcblk1p2 /system)

back in APK Manager, select 8

/system/framework/framework-res.apk

Reboot your Nook

Boot Loop: If you messed something up and are stuck in a boot loop, most of the time you can still mount your Nook, push the original framework-res.apk to it and reboot. Or, you can use an unedited version of the CWM flashable zip file from the link below.

NOTE: it is not smart to push your framework-res.apk file to the Nook. I've learned the hard way that you can only do this about 10 times before you run out of memory and can no longer boot your Nook until you reflash Froyo again.

I'd recommend only a few flashes on a bare bones copy of Froyo until you feel comfortable with working on the framework theme. After that, I'm attaching a base, flashable zip for you to use in CWM so you can flash the theme instead of pushing. This will prevent you from getting stuck in a boot loop (unless you do something wrong yourself).

To add your framework-res.apk file to the zip, just open the zip and replace the /system/framework/framework-res.apk file (I'd recommend 7zip).

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A Few Goodies

I'm including all of the PSD files I use to edit and create themes. If you want to create your own, custom theme, these will get you started. The only downside to these PSD files is that they are at the MDPI scale. If you want to create an HDPI theme, you'll need to increase the sizes.

Link to PSD files for creating your own theme, plus the flashable CWM zip file:

http://jjis.me/android-theme-templates

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